he great multitude of countries spanning the globe has slowly come to recognize and preserve womens voting rights. The right to vote has a direct impact on womens rights in all other realms, as women can participate in the formation of government and law. It was not until near the end of the nineteenth century, in 1893, that the first country, New Zealand, granted women the right to participate in national elections on the same basis as men. In the years prior to 1940, 26 countries followed suit.

While womens suffrage is now almost universal, history shows long delays between men and women gaining the right to vote in individual countries; the time elapsed between mens suffrage and womens suffrage ranged from one to 134 years, with the average delay for women amounting to 47 years. As of 1995, women had a legal right to vote everywhere in the world except in 6 countries in the Middle EastBahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emiratesas well as in Brunei, a small oil-rich monarchy in Southeast Asia.

Since 1954, numerous International United Nations Conventions have been held to protect and further womens rights throughout the world. (Visit the WomenWatch U.N. Web site for more information.)

Securing womens human rights has been a struggle and continues to be a struggle as the legality of political participation and protection for women often does not translate into a reality. In many countries gender-biased cultural norms persist and supercede womens legal rights. Access to education, especially higher education, is more limited for girls than boys, and below you will find a chart with more information on women and education.